Costa Tropical

Playa GranadaPlaya Punta del RíoLa Herradura

1. 

   Playa Granada

   sea · beginner ok

   AWA Watersports has run its Granada base on this beach at Motril since 2014, next to the Hoyo 19 beach bar, and the water in front of it is plain open Mediterranean: moderate surf over about 2 km of fine-to-coarse sand that narrows and widens between 20-40 m depending on where you walk in.

   intermediatemedium rigging room

   In seasonApr to Oct

   1. JanJ27
   2. FebF53
   3. MarM39
   4. Apr, riders' monthA27
   5. May, riders' monthM23
   6. Jun, riders' monthJ15
   7. Jul, riders' monthJ5
   8. Aug, riders' monthA5
   9. Sep, riders' monthS25
   10. Oct, riders' monthO27
   11. NovN23
   12. DecD19

   modelled: days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local

   Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

   Playa Granada: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Playa Granada

   Both poniente and levante work on the south-facing Costa Tropical. Neither is a given in high summer, so the April through October window is optimistic; 2025 was reportedly light for stretches. In July and August the beach itself is the bigger problem, with resort frontage and sun-loungers end to end and the golf behind. Motril's summer rules, reported in 2018, keep kites outside the 200 m bathing zone and route you out through marked nautical channels, and the current 2026 municipal wording was not found, so ask at the base which channel is live. Come in April, May or October if you want space.

   Getting on the water

   Beach launch from the AWA Watersports base at Motril, next to the Hoyo 19 beach bar. The beach itself is pebbles mixed with sand rather than clean fine sand, about 1,367 m long and roughly 40 m wide on average, with buoys running parallel to the shore in the bathing season and nautical lanes cut through them. Vehicle access comes in from two routes, with parking, bike spaces and a bus stop.

   If it goes wrong

   Lifeguard and first-aid posts are part of the beach's public services in season, and the AWA monitors hold lifeguard and first-aid qualifications alongside their nautical ones. No dedicated kite rescue boat is confirmed, and no cover is listed outside the bathing season.

   Rules and access

   2018-2026: in the bathing season kites stay outside the 200 m bathing zone and go in and out through the marked nautical lanes, under the 2018 municipal text. The beach is buoyed parallel to the shore with those lanes cut through it, and their position is not fixed from year to year, so check which one is live before rigging. The current municipal wording was not found and remains unconfirmed.

   Everything on Playa Granada

2. Playa Punta del Río

   sea · beginner ok

   Punta del Río is the Salobreña beach at the Guadalfeo river mouth on the Costa Tropical, where the sediment the river pushes out builds a bank that breaks into a surfable wave.

   intermediatemedium rigging room

   In seasonno month named for this spot

   1. JanJ27
   2. FebF53
   3. MarM39
   4. AprA27
   5. MayM23
   6. JunJ15
   7. JulJ5
   8. AugA5
   9. SepS25
   10. OctO27
   11. NovN23
   12. DecD19

   modelled: days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local

   Playa Punta del Río: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Playa Punta del Río

   18 Nudos Surf Club sits directly on the sand. The beach is long and thin, 1200 m by 30 m of gravel and sand with moderate surf, and it stays empty because the way in runs through reed beds and farmland instead of a promenade. The wind is the weak part of the story: it is reportedly frequent enough for kitesurf and windsurf, while the only published Salobreña statistics are stale and average 5 kt, and a recent 5-day condition ranking put no Salobreña beach in kiteable shape. Nobody has published what direction and strength actually work at the river mouth. Come here for a surf-and-kite week booked around the club, not for a trip where the kite has to fly every day. Summer water is 24.7 C, winter 14.9 C.

   Getting on the water

   Beach launch at the Guadalfeo river mouth beside the surf club at Urbanización TH2, 189, Playa Punta del Río. Under the shallow shelf by the river wall the bottom is stable rock boulder rather than clean sand. Access runs through a reed bed and farmland: aim for Salobreña Playa first and pick the club up from there, because a straight GPS line puts you on dirt tracks.

   If it goes wrong

   No lifeguard is listed for this beach and it is graded isolated. The surf club on the sand teaches surf, kayak and paddle surf and runs a summer school; its office is open Monday to Friday 09:30-14:30 on +34 609 54 35 77. No kiteboarding course and no rescue cover for kiting is published. Treat it as self-rescue and use 112 for an emergency.

   Rules and access

   2026: Salobreña beaches are open 10:00-21:00, entry and exit go through the enabled accesses, and staying overnight is discouraged so the cleaning can run. Kitesurf and windsurf, like personal watercraft, use the designated areas where those are marked, or otherwise stay at least 200 m off the shore and at a speed that lets the rider spot other water users; sport navigation inside the marked swimming zones is prohibited. No kite-specific municipal rule for Punta del Río was found beyond that general framework.

   Everything on Playa Punta del Río

3. 

   La Herradura

   sea · beginner ok

   La Herradura is a horseshoe bay on the Costa Tropical, west of Almuñécar, 2050 m of gravel and sand with the town along the back of it.

   intermediatelarge rigging room

   In seasonApr to Aug

   1. JanJ23
   2. FebF42
   3. MarM32
   4. Apr, riders' monthA22
   5. May, riders' monthM18
   6. Jun, riders' monthJ15
   7. Jul, riders' monthJ8
   8. Aug, riders' monthA6
   9. SepS18
   10. OctO23
   11. NovN22
   12. DecD13

   modelled: days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local

   Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug.

   La Herradura: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on La Herradura

   Levante leaves the bay sheltered and flat; strong Poniente turns the same water into chaotic waves and shorebreak. Tide does nothing here. The launch that works is the river mouth on the main beach, with room to lay a kite out and food within walking distance. It is an urban beach at full occupancy in season: marked swimming zones, windsurfers, dinghies and other nautical traffic, and the sand packed in June, July and August. The kite evidence is thinner than the windsurf and sailing evidence and no marked kite channel was found, so this is a spot you ride when the wind and the beach allow, not a kite centre with a plan for you. Water is 24.6 C in summer and 14.9 C in winter. April through August has the most days with wind, and the shoulder months are when the bay is worth the drive.

   Getting on the water

   Launch at the Rio Jate mouth on the main beach, by the surf shop. The beach is 2,050 m long and about 40 m deep, dark gravel and sand, with parking a short walk away and food along the front. Marked swimming zones and sailing traffic decide where the space actually is in summer.

   If it goes wrong

   No dedicated kite rescue, and no lifeguard or first-aid post appears among the beach's listed services. The watersports school on the bay is on the water most days from April to November, which is the nearest thing to help offshore; 112 is the emergency number.

   Everything on La Herradura

• Granada airport, about 52 minutes' drive from Motril
• Málaga airport, about 74 minutes' drive from Motril

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Known for Spain:easyJet

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

1. The thing people flag first is the shorebreak. Getting in and out is the hard part, not the riding, and it is worst when the poniente is up.

   consensus×3 riders

2. This coast gets wind from two opposite directions — poniente from the west and levante from the east — and session logs show riders using both. That is unusual for the Mediterranean and it is the reason the spot works at all.

   consensus×3 riders

3. This is as much a wave-riding coast as a wind one. Session after session mentions 1 to 2 m of swell and people describing what they did as surf-kite rather than freeride.

   consensus×3 riders

4. It is not a summer destination. The dated session logs cluster in December, February, March, April and September — riders here treat winter and the shoulders as the season and high summer as the quiet bit.

   majority×2 riders

5. You will often be alone or nearly alone on the water. Logs mention riding solo in front of the school, and there is no crowd of visiting kiters to share the beach with.

   majority×2 riders

6. The honest local framing is 'it is not Tarifa'. People who ride here say the good days are excellent and that you have to wait for them, rather than turning up for a fixed week.

   majority×2 riders

7. La Herradura is the shelter, not the kite spot. The bay stays flat under levante and suits beginners, it has marked swimming zones, and it turns unpleasant when a real poniente fills in.

   majority×2 riders

8. The commercial side is one small school with a handful of public ratings. There is no camp scene, no queue of operators, and very little to compare on price.

   majority×2 riders

9. Quality swings hard from one day to the next at the same beach. The same riders record steady, barely gusty days on small kites and, weeks apart, wind that keeps switching on and off with a messy 2 m sea.

   contested×3 riders

• La Herradura was the site of a 1562 naval disaster in which around 25 Spanish warships were destroyed by storms, later referenced by Cervantes in Don Quixote
• The area has Bronze Age archaeological evidence, and was an Islamic-period settlement known as Sat or Xat
• Motril briefly declared itself an independent 'República de Motril' from 22 to 25 July 1873
• Motril's economy was historically built on sugar refining, now preserved in preindustrial-sugar museums
• AWA Watersports opened its Playa Granada base in Motril in 2014

What we could not settle. Ride here? These are the gaps worth filling.

• Is 'Costa Tropical' the name riders actually use for this area?
• What does AWA Watersports charge for lessons and accommodation packages?
• Is there a bus between Motril and Salobreña, and on to La Herradura?
• Which SIM works on the Costa Tropical, and what safety notes matter here?